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About Hamad
Expertise
I have a general understanding of the common everyday problems and confusions people have about Islam. Generally, I will, to the best of my ability, answer the questions from a psychological as well as an Islamic point of view. - PLEASE BEWARE OF MR. A.ABRAHAM IN THIS CATEGORY WHO IS *NOT* A MUSLIM -

Experience
My experience is mainly derived from helping people I know around me how have problem of concern about Islam or general social issues. I have been doing this for a few years now which includes the year I've spent answering to questionnaires here.

Education/Credentials
I have no proper credentials to answer question on Islam or psychology except from my personal knowledge and other sources. I have taken a course in psychology as well as read some books on it. I received most of my Islamic knowledge from my mother, who is an Islamic teacher, and my Qur'an tutor.

You are here: Experts > Teens > Spirituality/Religion for Teens > Muslim Teens > smoking

Muslim Teens - smoking

Expert: Hamad - 11/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: assalam alkum my brother in islam, may allah swt reward you for all your help inshallah. i am a very religous women alhumdullah i try to go by allahs laws as much inshallah some people even say im too strict, but i only do what Allah has told me and our beloved prophet pbuh. my only thing that i am doing that is harm and i know it is, is that i smoke, belive me brother i know how bad it is for you and Allah swt tells us in the Quran not to intoxnate our self, but i really can not kick the habit, some times i feel so bad and ashamed how i am so religous but than smoke i know no one is pertfect except allah swt and his prophet pbuh, i see the most beautiful dreams, like praying and doing haij 3 times crying while seeing the kaba in my dreams, i with all my heart want to do the haij but as i have a servere disabald son it is very hard at the moment until allah swt makes a way for me. my question is will i go to hell fire, will allah ever forgive me for smoking i some times cry in my prayers for fear of him. may allah forgive me, that is if i dont die of lung cancer first allah forbid. please try and answer this question i know only allah knows best but i really want to try to stop but the frustration of my life looking after my son is very hard and the ciggarete seems the only thing that keeps me sane. thankyou for your help. may allah reward you. zazakallah whokaron. salam allkum

ANSWER: Walikum assalam dear Adeliah

I would like to sincerely apologize for taking so long to respond. I've been caught up with a lot of work and unfortunately wasn't able to make up time to respond to any of the many questions I had pending. I hope you will understand and forgive me for this, inshAllah.

MashAllah, it is praiseworthy that you put so much effort to keep following the Laws of Allah (swt) and abide by His Orders. It is difficult to find many such people these days, unfortunately. While I myself have never smoked alhamdulillah, I know how nicotine can be addictive. Breaking any habit isn't easy and smoking is one of those that people have a problem getting over. MashAllah, you have had such wonderful dreams that most of us only wish to have. You are from Allah's (swt) good Muslims inshAllah and I hope and pray that you are from the people of Jannat al Firdous. It is quite sad to know that you have such a habit that is harmful, not just to you but to the environment as well. All things created by Allah (swt) are a blessing for us which we can sometimes not even notice until we lose them.

That is one of human being's problem I believe. We live so much into the present that we forget about our past and future. Alhamdulillah, you are one of those who do think about the future which is why you are putting so much effort to make the most out of it by being a good Muslim. Allah (swt) warns us several times in the Holy Qur'an to take lesson from the mistakes of others. This is why the Qur'an has so many examples of people and nations that disobeyed Allah (swt) and continued to do things they were told they should not. Such nations and their people suffered in this world and the Next. But through these examples we are taught in the Qur'an and Hadith that a Muslim should learn from other's mistakes and avoid things that are bad for them.

Of course that is not always possible, which is why a Muslim is someone who when he/she makes a mistake does not repeat it. We are supposed to be wiser spiritually than any other nation of this world. We of all people should understand something that is harmful for us and others that are beneficial. Eventually it all depends on the decisions we make. The harder choices we make are those where we are not sure because it might be good thing for us but bad for others, or bad for us but for the good of the society. Such decisions are not easy to make and need a lot of selflessness and sacrifice. Unfortunately, the choice to smoke has no good side to it. You would be harming yourself and other people including the environment.

I want you to look at those documentaries that show how we are wasting the Earth and its resources which are a blessing from Allah (swt). Watch the documentary called Home which came out this year which will make you weep for the planet we are in and how we destroy it. Watch other documentaries that show those people who are so poor, that they have to come to the point to make a decision to even sell their children. We need to understand the deeper meaning of those things and how we are contributing to the harm of this blessing to us by smoking out life away. Not only do we continue to harm the blessings of Allah (swt) in the form of our body and all inside it, but as I can see from your question that it is harming the peace of your soul too.

I am not sure what part of the world you live in, but do you know that it takes just $0.25 so a child in a poor part of the world can eat a meal for one day? We spend that much money without even thinking several time a day. Consider that cost of the cigarettes that you smoke (or sheesha) and see how many children's meals you smoked. Even if your cigarette pack costs $3, it means that you smoked away the money that could feed 12 hungry children today. Everything in this world belongs to Allah (swt), including our money. On the Day of Judgement, Allah (swt) will ask us how we spent our wealth. How ashamed will someone feel when they have so many good deeds, but spend a huge sum of money on something that benefitted no one, not even themselves. The only people who do actually benefit are the owners of such products. But they are those who do not care about anything else beyond this world. For them, our existence begins and ends in this world. But that doesn't change the reality which we know. The reality that we have to answer for our acts and deeds to Allah (swt) someday. The Day when we stand in front of Him and He asks you why you wasted your health that was a blessing to you as well as your wealth. The same wealth which we sometimes forget to appreciate that it belongs to Allah (swt). The same wealth which is given to us for the benefit for humanity and ourselves.

You have a desire to go for Hajj mashAllah. The lucky ones get a chance when Allah (swt) gives it to them. But sometimes, we might deserve to go but Allah (swt) stops it from happening due to some serious mistake we might have made. A person who fears Allah (swt) would somehow find it inside their heart to change their lives entirely. At times, there are things we find hard to change like in your case. Have you thought that it is possible that the thing blocking your way to Hajj is that you are still addicted to smoking? Of course, it is in the Allah's Will to forgive you for this mistake of yours and you will still get Jannah. Smoking is a mistake but not as big as others where Hellfire is almost for sure. Maybe Allah (swt) will have mercy on you since you seem to be suffering mentally from this. I hope inshAllah that is the case.

But dear sister, Allah (swt) has given you a son, who is disabled as a test for you most probably. I am sure you can already know that. You will see every day the difficult tests Allah (swt) puts on the people. It is sometimes a punishment and sometimes a blessing because it gives you the chance to wash away your sins. I am sure I cannot totally understand how difficult it is to take care of a disabled son and to live with such a thing, but surely Allah (swt) will not give you more burden than you can handle. You have the chance to pass your test and show that you truly are a believer and that you do not need anyone or anything to give you the strength to cope with the difficulties and tests of life. You as a Muslim have Allah (swt) on your side already, so why would you need anything else? People who have strong faith are able to accomplish things we used to think were impossible. If only they can have similar strength in faith when it comes to religion. Your weapon to survive and fight is in your faith in Allah (swt) and Islam.

Imagine the hardships our beloved Rasool Allah (pbuh) went through for so many years. He came to us an example so we could know that it is possible for a human to go through so much by faith alone. We cannot be anything even near to how the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) was of course, but we can respect him by trying to follow in his footsteps at least. Intoxicants are taken my most people to go through the difficulties of life. For them they need to because they have no faith in them. It is a belief that you will get a temporary peace of mind and feel relaxed by smoking or drinking. Sadly, none of them give us true happiness and peace of heart and mind. Instead it harms us and gives us a superficial sense of relaxation. If you compare it, isn't it like the life in this world which is also temporary? A true Muslims lives less for this world and more for the real one that will provide with true happiness and relaxation.

I hope you will use whatever way, for instance my seeing a doctor to help you curb your urges or take medications, ultimately it all depends on how much Imaan is inside you. Medicines get finished and doctors can die or change, but our faith is the only thing we can hold on to and use it to fight and go through life. You have a lot of it, but there is still potential for you to become a lot more. Someday inshAllah you will become an example for others and a sign of hope and strength. But if things remain as they are, we will need to think what we will say to Allah (swt) when we shall be questioned.

I am really sorry for the delay and for this lengthy reply. I am hoping that this helps to change your mind inshAllah. If you need someone to motivate you and keep a check on you to stop the smoking I would be happy to help you with that. Do not give up hope. Allah (swt) is the Most Merciful, but we need to do something for that Mercy too.

Assalam alikum,
Hamad

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: salam allkum oh dear brother hamad, may allah swt reward u for your response, it was very heart warming which brought me to tears, you made very good sense, which all was right, i live in australia and a packet of gigaretts cost $12.00 i know a lot god can you imagain how many poor children i can feed, i feel very bad and sad at the moment, i have made up my mind inshallah i am not going to buy any more,instead when ever i usually buy a packet i will put it in a money box and at the end of the year i will give to the poor,inshallah that will be a lot as i buy
a packet every day. may allah swt forgive me for the unecceray spending. i know it is going to be very hard for me maybe i will need some kind of medician from the doctor as i have been smoking for a very long time. i just want to say may allah swt reward you for helping me out in this situation i will pray for you to enter jannanh inshallah. it can be quite sad when some one is so god fearing andyet is doing haram. people think im crazy living in a country so free and yet im so religious, dont listern to music, dont sit with men all the things allah has forbade us, even my own parents may allah lead them on the right path, it is very sad when ones parents dont pray or wears the hijab. any way brother i will be stopping tommorrow inshallah, please pray for me and do douha i will let you know how im going and thank you so much for your concern i am so pleased that you have offered to be there for me if i need you. may allah swt reward you in this life and the herafter. ameen. zaakallah salam my dear brother in islam.

Answer
Walikum assalam wa rahmat Allah dearest sister Adeliah,

I cannot tell you how happy it made me to get such positive feedback from you! MashAllah, you have proven that you are quite an intelligent woman who just needed a little motivation to change your habit. Thank you very much for the so many wonderful words and dua dear sister. I am honestly flattered and the fact that it helped you in even the slightest way means a lot to me.

SubhanAllah, I have to say that it really touched me that you took a step ahead and even decided to donate the money you used to spend on a cigarette pack to help the poor! I was narrating this to my mother, who has played a huge role in my understanding of Islam, and upon hear this she had tears in her eyes. I have to say that I am quite inspired by how even while living in a non-Muslim country like Australia, you have not lost your Imaan and still put Islam before everything else, mashAllah. This particular quality of your Imaan is what makes you unique from other Muslims who even though live in Muslim nations fail to follow even the basic practices of Islam. I will, inshAllah, use your example to other people so you will get Hasanat/Sawab. The way you are handling yourself is nothing less than a miracle itself.

As you mentioned, our parents are usually those who set us an example. We pick up a lot of things from them and if what they do is not exactly the best thing, it leaves the children to struggle more to know what is right and what is wrong. May Allah guide your parents and other Muslims around you by making you an example of inspiration. Ameen. What you are doing is one of the qualities of a true Muslim alhamdulillah, where you are not letting yourself become corrupted by society.

One other thing I felt I should mention, however, is to say that I was extremely pleased to know that you have decided to change yourself so quickly. I will recommend you to do some reading on methods and techniques that will be permanent and make this as smooth as possible. While for some people quitting right away works, in other cases there can be some undesirable withdrawal symptoms. Hence, since I really want this to work out it will help if you were prepared for any unpleasant feelings and how to cope with them. I did a little research to help find you some pages to read through. One highly recommended action is to join a support group. I am not sure how much that is possible but it does not necessarily work for everyone so in case you can't join one, there's nothing to worry about.

I hope all this did not discourage you, inshAllah. If you wish for me to respond to you through my personal email where I can help follow up on your progress, then do please respond to this as 'Private' so I can include my email without making it public. If you are not comfortable that way, you can continue your follow ups here as well. I will do my best to assist you in whatever way I can to help you quit smoking and ultimately attain more peace of heart and soul.

I hope this response was as helpful as the previous, inshAllah. Anything else please do not hesitate to write back and inshAllah I'll try following up as soon as possible. May Allah bless you for all those lovely words. Please remember me in your duas.

Please do take care,

Assalam alikum,
Hamad

___________
P.S - Here are the couple of pages I believe might provide some basic approach on how to quit smoking
.
This is a really good page that summarizes the facts and info about smoking as well as techniques you can use to quit:
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ped/content/ped_10_13x_guide_for_quitting_smoking....

This page has some recommended techniques as well:
http://www.lung.ca/protect-protegez/tobacco-tabagisme/quitting-cesser/how-commen...

Another site with info on how and why one should quit smoking:
http://www.smokefree.gov/

Some other pages to read:
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/howtoquitsmoking/a/quit_smoking.htm
http://quitsmoking.about.com/od/howtoquitsmoking/a/mindsetstudy.htm
http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/preparation/a/prepare.htm
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/addictions/tobacco/161.html

I've included these pages which contain information you might already be aware of but go through it as a reminder. I pray that Allah (swt) makes this as easy and comfortable as possible for you, inshAllah.

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